A cross-cultural analysis of perception towards sex appeal advertising - Dissertation Example

?Methodology Research Design Understanding the means though which a researcher goes by to obtain data is one of the most vital elements when presenting research results. It is important to understand that this sets a block for the person going through the information from which they can gain a deeper understanding of the results. In this research, the design taken up for the information involved the distribution of research tools to different places in an attempt to diversify the information acquired and to rule out monotony. Different towns were visited from which I gained an understanding of the information from an even deeper perspective. Research Approach The research approach incorporated in the tabulating of information was a mixture of all the four major types of research. The initial research carried out was the Advocacy research where it was arrived to the conclusion that the existing modes of research and the information acquired was not sufficient for the analysis and conclusion of the topic under review. This is from the fact that numerous people and scientists have indulged in this research method with the hope of coming to a conclusion but with the rise in technology, the information is never satisfactory. There was also the incorporation of the pragmatic approach of research. This is where there is the study of what professionals in the stated field have to say regarding the issue. This is important to take into account before incorporating the more popular approaches to research. This is from the fact that they offer a basis for the research and one is able to understand the waytogo buy the research and also offers one an in depth understanding of the topic under review. It was after these two approaches that there was the incorporation of the more popular qualitative research which was later on concluded by quantitative reseach all that are later discussed extensively. In addition to these, it is important to recognize that there are two different methods through which a researcher can gain data and this is by either secondary research or primary research. Secondary Research Seconmdary research involves analyzing already existing information on the stated subject. In this case, secondary research involved a couple of approaches. The first one involved going online and looking at several sites in an attempt to understand the different approaches that various professionals and writers had to say regarding the issue of sex appeal advertising. This method was resourceful from the fact that different opinions lead to some form of loggerheading and creates a basis for more research by individual proffesionals. With increase in research, it is clear that more information is arrived at and consequently more knowledge is articulated. Another mode of secondary research incorporated was by visiting live libraries. Libraries are known to harbor many books with different topics and the fact that the library was visited gives more credit to the information presented seeing as many books were visited. There was also the watching of many videos and documentaries that assisted understand the manner through which cultures in the prior years used to take the issue. This is compared to the manner through which contemporary cultures percieve and act on the matter. Primary Research Primary research is the research through which a research gets information first hand without referring to any other research carried out prior to the date of research. One of the methods that I used in an effort to accumulate data through primary research was by observation. I was able to stand across a street directly opposite to a lotion advertising billboard that had a semi-naked woman photographed in it. I was able to observe the reactions that different women across all ages as they passed trough the location. From this method, I got to understand that different women of different ages had different reactions to the billboard. Women of a slightly older age were greatly offended by the billboard and could be seen frowning as they passed through the location. However, other women of a younger age group did not seem disturbed by the billboard. I also had the ability to visit several homes in different locations and get information directly from the women in an effort to gain more understanding of the issue. Qualitative versus Quantitative Research. Qualitative Qualitative research was greatly incorporated in the data collection regarding the topic. One of the factors that I deduced wasthat different homes had different perceptions of my research and thus determining the nature of their welcoming. When I visited homes of younger women, the welcoming was not so great from the fact that these women were shy and that they felt guilt of what the female gender has come to become of the contemporary times. However, older womens' households that had been used to a different culture prior to civilization were particularly welcoming. I was able to understand that the reason behind this is the fact that they were confident in themselves and willing to provide as much information as they could as long as it would help steer the contemporary generation in the reight direction. I was able to deduce the fact that many advertisements made were on billboards and that a particular street these set up at a distant of fifty metres from each other which is also negative as it may make drivers lose attention. It is also important to note that when carrying out research on the internet, pop up ads came up frequently in an ironic twist and this ads had semi-naked women being promoted in pornographic websites. I was also able to deduce that many of the children in the families visited were of the female gender and were aware of the contemporary issues going on regarding their gender. Moreover, in general, the people that I visited in an effort to get the information and the websites that I went through were mostly oif civic minded people. Quantitative There was also the quantitative review of the study. From this, I was able to deduce information regarding the numeric view of the information. I carriedout sheets including questionares through which I would tabulate both my observations and the information accorded to me by the people interviewed. Questionares were given to women across all ages ad I was able to identify the fact that young girls and ladies dd not pay much attention to the issue at hand. However, older women who seemed to be of the prior generation where they had very strict and distinct culture were widely against it. Being that the contemporary environment is made up of mainly the youth, 70% of people interviewed did not have much issue regarding the subject matter. The number of people in the varying locatons was also another factor to concider. In order to make the research fair, the study was both done in an urban setting, where mostly the youth dwell, and a semi- rural setting mostly inhabited by the elderly generation. The percentage of people interviewed brought the result to 49% in the urban setting and 51% in the rural setting. I also made it fair to visit websites written by people of varying cultures that assisted me in understanding the major differences. After reviewing the websites, I found 87% of them credible in that they gave me precise information and did not diverge from the topic. Rationale for Choice of Research Methods In an effort to gain quality work and information, it is important to show some diversification in the research methods used. In some situations, one is confined to only one research methods, howeer, of independent and open studies such as this one, it is important to use different styles and consequently the information got is of the best quality. This is because each method touches on different areas of the study and this leads to a wider field of study touched. Measuring and scaling was made by simply calculating the percentages of data received from the different cultures and then tabulating it to understand how much each culture was affected by sex appeal advertising. The questionares also came in rather resourceful from the manner in which they got people thinking before they answered it. The initial physical impression made by the person before answering the question revealed the answer that the person had in mind and even though they cheated, I was able to know their thoughts. In understanding the sampling process, it is important to put into mind that this is a rather very important aspect of the methodology. In an effort to determine the population, I put into consideration that the contemporary environment that is civilized acts in a complete different manner from the older generation that had its culture completely different from the way of life today. Having this in mind, I was able to separate the two and put them as two distinct cultures and therefore defining the population. Determining the sample frame was arrived at by calculating the percentage of people per culture interviewed and adding it to the percentage number of websites visited that had information regarding each culture. After this, percentages of each culture would be added and the average got consequently determining the general percentage. Determining this sample technique was arrived at after reviewing and finding out that the major sources of information were less than five and thus the averaging method was the most appropriate and as stated earlier, the sample size was arrived out by mean of manual counting. The data analysis was carried out through a series of steps, the first step involved identification of the quality of data to comprehend whether it was worthy which according to this study was. There was also understanding of the quality of measurements taken which was done through confirmatory factor analysis which showed the accuracy of the measuring tools incorporated. The tools in this study were very helpful from the fact they incorporated questionairs which have high positive acclamation in the field of research. Another step is self analysis where one is required to state whether the data was resourceful which in this study was very resourceful and insightful to me. Read More